Sky-High Views and Decadent Brunch From Charlie Palmer Hit Napa on Sunday

Sky & Vine, Charlie Palmer’s new restaurant and rooftop bar, opens on the sixth floor of downtown Napa’s Archer Hotel this Sunday with an epic brunch situation, and the town’s only rooftop view.

Napa’s Archer Hotel, which opened last November, already has the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse in its lobby, and now the 11,000 square foot rooftop can seat 80 on the patio lounge — complete with fire pits and games like giant Jenga — in addition to 130 seats at the restaurant and bar.

Open seasonally, the rooftop bar will offer daily breakfast, all-day dining and reverse Happy Hour (9 p.m.-close), plus a bottomless brunch ($38) on Sundays, which includes a doughnut wheel or charcuterie board for the table, unlimited bloody marys, two hours worth of mimosas, and choice of a brunch entree.

Andy Berry Photo

Andy Berry Photo

Executive chef Jeffery Russell is now overseeing the menus for both Archer Hotel restaurants, but the rooftop menus (check them out here) are a casual departure from the upscale steakhouse downstairs. Focusing on lighter, yet still elevated classic American dishes, small plates include deviled eggs with pimento cheese and raw oysters with a refreshing cucumber mignonette. A trio of sandwiches make up the Mains; the simple Charlie Palmer Steak Sandwich comes with seared NY strip steak, caramelized onion and CP’s signature steak sauce.

“Downstairs is truly dining, a very modern American steakhouse approach, and Sky & Vine will be more casual—sandwiches, burgers, small plates, very fun and share-friendly,” said Palmer.

The renowned chef/restaurateur/hotelier envisions the rooftop as a gathering spot where both Napa locals and tourists will intermingle. “The interesting thing for hotel guests is to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the locals,” said Palmer. “When I’m traveling, I don’t want to necessarily dine with other hotel guests from other parts of the country, I want to be next to the locals.”

Lobster corn dogs — hands down the most in-demand happy hour snack at the steakhouse bar — will also carry over to the rooftop menu. Palmer says they’ve sold 10,000 corn dogs this year to date, with a goal to sell one million by the end of 2018. For dessert, mini ice cream sandwiches are made with house-churned vanilla bean ice cream pressed between a pair of house-baked chocolate chip cookies.

Bob McClenahan

Bob McClenahan

And while Charlie Palmer Steakhouse offers more classic libations, the rooftop has its own list of fun and innovative signature cocktails. The colorful Elixir combines Absolut Elyx vodka with lemon, pickled beet cucumber and beet kombucha. The house-made beet kombucha is also available sans alcohol as one of the bar’s Zero Proof cocktails.

On Thursdays and Sundays, Sky & Vine will have live music, while Brown Bag Wednesdays challenge patrons to blind taste a bottle of wine in a brown bag and attempt to guess the three V’s: varietal, vintage and vintner. One correct answer results in 10 percent off the bottle price, two knocks 50 percent off the price, and a perfect score gets you the bottle for just $1 (so bring your somm friends).

Starting Sunday, April 15 Sky & Vine Rooftop Bar is open daily for breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. and all day dining runs from 11 a.m. to close (12 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 1 a.m. Friday-Saturday). Reverse happy hour occurs nightly from 9 p.m. to close, featuring with $5 beers, $9 cocktails and wines by the glass, and snacks ranging from $4-10. Sunday Brunch is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Renowned Chef Charlie Palmer Opens His Napa Steakhouse Tomorrow [ESF]